1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a putting aid for the game of golf and, more particularly, to aid in determining the slope or break of a green. Patents related thereto may be found in U.S. class 473, subclass 404.
2. Background
Golf greens are not flat, but have various slopes to make the game more challenging. When a golf ball is putted, at first it tends to travel in a straight line, but as it approaches the cup and slows down, the direction of travel is determined more and more by the slope of the green. The challenge for the golfer is to visually determine the slope near the cup and attempt to make allowances for it by putting in a direction to compensate.
A number of putting aids have been devised. These cannot be used in regulation play, but are used as training aids. A typical example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,096, issued Jul. 5, 1994 to H""Doubler, one of the present inventors. This device comprises a generally flat housing having two grooves at right angles in which are located conventional linear float levels. The housing is placed on the green with one level pointing in the direction of the cup. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,689, issued Feb. 2, 1999 to Heyman. In one embodiment, a hole is bored through a golf ball and a circular bubble level inserted in one end flush with the ball surface. A circular plate is adhered to the ball at the other end of the hole concentric with it. The plate forms a base that rests on the green.
These and other prior art devices appear to be workable to some extent. However, they may not produce truly accurate results. This is because a golf green is not a hard surface but a resilient grass mat. The usual Bermuda or Bent grass used at most golf courses is cut so that it has typically a {fraction (1/32)}nd to {fraction (1/16)}th inch (0.08 to 0.16 cm) stem with an approximately xc2xd inch (1.27 cm) blade. The blades tend to lie flat in a direction depending on raking direction. The dirt surface underneath is quite firm and uniform (to an estimated {fraction (1/32)} of an inch), but the thickness of the overlaying grass mat has variable thickness and resiliency. In any event, the golf ball never touches the dirt. Prior art devices have not taken into account the existence of this resilient grass mat. Heavy devices would crush the mat and light devices would be influenced too much by a few blades of grass. None of the prior art devices make provisions for measuring the slope that would be encountered by a golf ball.
Accordingly, the major object of the invention is to measure the slope of the green with a device that as closely as possible measures the slope that would be encountered by a golf ball. Other objects are to make a device that is easy to use without explanation. Of course, small size and economic mass production are always desirable.
These objects and others are realized in a golf green break reader having a level visible from the top of the reader and a base that makes contact with the green at two or more locations. The weight of the reader and the location of the contact are such that the weight at each contact approximates the weight of a golf ball. More preferably, the shape of the contacts simulates the shape of a segment of a golf ball and has a dimpled surface as does a golf ball. Thus, the break reader more accurately measures the slope of the green as would be seen by a golf ball.
One preferred version uses a relatively large circular bubble level of about three inches (7.62 cm) diameter and a base making three contacts to the green. The base is a single piece injection molded component with a generally triangularly shaped plate and three segments of simulated golf balls with dimples on the bottom. The level is fixed to the top with adhesive.